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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23079649">Well, because you are my hero Kitty.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/super_fan_girl/pseuds/super_fan_girl'>super_fan_girl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Light Angst, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, POV Alternating, Self-Esteem Issues, adrienette - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:46:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,086</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23079649</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/super_fan_girl/pseuds/super_fan_girl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There are not that many Cat Noir fans, but you should think twice before insulting their hero. Marinette thought Adrien was a fan of Cat Noir. This was some new information to her. Adrien couldn't understand how can someone be get akumatized over Cat Noir.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This day needs to go perfectly. With a little luck and a little help from Alya, Marinette might end up spending the whole evening alone with Adrien. The four of them were going to the first ever Miraculous convention. People from all over France, some from even beyond, came to Paris to celebrate all the heroes, especially Ladybug and Cat Noir. There were stalls, games, quizzes, and even panels. Chloe was on one of it, and there were rumors that Ladybug and Cat Noir might show up as well. They wouldn’t. Not unless there was an akuma. Cat Noir had suggested it but their previous public appearances hadn’t ended well so she had refused. She hoped there would be no akuma today because today needs to be perfect.</p>
<p>Adrien’s bodyguard dropped them in front of the convention center. It was packed with people. Most of them dressed as Ladybug, a few Cat Noirs, Renas and Carapaces. She even spotted a girl dressed as queen bee that wasn’t chole. All four of them had decided against cosplay, she was so grateful for it. If she absolutely had to wear one, she would go as Cat Noir or even Rena. She will never risk dressing up as Ladybug ever again.</p>
<p>Alya linked her arm with Marinette’s. “this is so awesome!” she said. Marinette had to smile. It really was so amazing and she still had trouble believing so many people came here dressed as her. She had thought there will be as many dressed as Cat Noir but there weren’t less than what she had expected. They walked past stalls right behind Adrien and Nino. The boys stopped at a quiz booth run by two girls only slightly older than them. Marinette and Alya stopped there as well. One girl was dressed as Ladybug, the other as Cat Noir. One half of their table was red, the other green. Both of them had a few cards set on the table, two of which read Number one fan and had a picture of Ladybug and Cat Noir printed in the background of each.  From the looks of it, the lady Cat Noir has put far more efforts into her costume than the blonde Ladybug did.</p>
<p>Alya gave Marinette a wink. “no, not yet” Marinette whispered but Alya had already freed her arm and went to Nino. “hey” she said to him, “I want to check out that thing over there, come on” she tugged at his arm. “Okay” he said, “let’s see what we have here and then we will all go there together”. Alya gave him a look that only Marinette seem to have caught. The boys were oblivious. “No Nino” Alya said slowly, “let’s go now. I don’t think Adrien and Marinette will mind if we leave them alone for a while”. Nino didn’t seem to understand. “Yeah, we’ll be fine” Adrien said. He clearly thought Alya wanted to spend some time alone with her boyfriend and was trying to get rid of them. He wasn’t completely wrong. Marinette only managed a nod. Alya winked at her one more time before walking away with Nino, whispering to him, furiously.</p>
<p>Adrien turned to her and gave her the sweetest smile. That’s why it took her a few more seconds to register that he was saying something. “Huh?” she said. “I said do you want to try this hero off with me?” he said while pointing at the booth. “S- sure” she said. They both turned to face the girls in the booth. The blonde Ladybug gave them a warm smile and said, “hey there. I’m Sarah, this is Alice” she pointed at lady Cat Noir in impeccable cosplay. It would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the pen tucked behind her ear. The girl waved and smiled but only for a second. “I’m Ladybug and she is Cat Noir” Sarah continued. Marinette and Adrien both chuckled a little nervously. “We want to know how much you know about your favorite hero. So, I’ll ask one of you questions about Ladybug and she will ask about Cat Noir. The one with most correct answers under two minutes will be the winner. What do you say? Are you ready to play?” She asked, a little too cheerfully.</p>
<p>Marinette thought she was in trouble. She thought she would have to convince Adrien to let her pick Cat Noir. She obviously can’t pick herself but she also knew Adrien was fan of Cat Noir. As it turns out she was worried over nothing. Adrien picked Ladybug all by himself and so she had to pick Cat Noir. Sarah took some cards in her hands and Alice had a stopwatch in hers. She started asking questions very fast and Adrien was equally fast to answer. It started out simple. <em>What is ladybug’s special power? How tall is she? What is her Catchphrase?</em> Stuff like that. Then it got a little detailed. She had pulled stuff from interviews, news and actual fights she had witnessed. Here Adrien started to fumble, but kept up with it better than Marinette had expected. He got only four wrong out of the seventeen questions she had asked him. Sarah looked impressed. Now it was Marinette’s turn. Alice the lady Cat stood up with cards in her hands. “Let’s see how you do it” she said. She tried to be cheerful but it sounded a little off. Sarah the blonde ladybug nodded at her with a stopwatch in her hands. They began. Alice took the pen from behind her ear and started ticking off on the cards. Sarah hadn’t done that. It started out simple as well. <em>What are his special powers?</em> When she said night vision along Cataclysm Alice looked up just for a second, but resumed quickly. <em>What’s his signature move? What is the only akuma he did not fight?</em> This one got hard fast, but she knew all of it. Alice had some very detailed notes on her partner. All the interviews with press, with ladyblog, things he had said or done during fights that Marinette couldn’t figure out how she knew about. Marinette however answered them with ease.</p>
<p>Even about stuff he attended alone without her. Marinette likes to be prepared and she had kept an eye out for all her friends. She liked to know where they would be just in case an akuma attack took place near there. Cat Noir was the hardest one to keep track of, so she had to put a twice the effort into him as compared to everyone else, to know very little and trivial things about him. So far, the only use of it had been answering this quiz but she was sure it would come in handy someday. She had done it as a precaution, she wasn’t a stalker, of course not. This girl here might be though. Or she might be just a fan, you can never know.</p>
<p>Almost at the end she realized Adrien was staring at her, and she realized she was doing too well. She fumbled at the last question on purpose and hoped it was enough. She got carried away. She should have missed some on purpose. Why was Adrien staring at her? Oh no! did he thought she had a crush on Cat Noir? Alya had teased her about it, and tikki as well. Of course, she did not have a crush on him, that would be ridiculous, but what if Adrien thought she did? Oh no!</p>
<p>“and time!” Sarah said. Alice had a huge grin on her face. “I asked you eighteen questions and you answered sixteen of them correctly” she said. Sixteen? Marinette had thought she had answered all of them correctly except the last one she messed up on purpose. It wasn’t a big deal and chances of Alice the lady Cat being wrong were more than Marinette being wrong, but it still made her uneasy. It’s okay, it’s fine. “You win miss?” Alice asked. “Marinette” Marinette said. “Miss Marinette. You are the first person to win today on Cat Noir’s side” Alice said as she handed a keychain with her partner’s silhouette. Marinette took it. She realized Alice had made it herself. “the first and the last” Sarah said in a teasing voice. Alice’s expression suddenly dropped. “we will see about that” she said. It seems like there was an argument about to happen. Adrien sensed it too.</p>
<p>“Do you like Cat Noir?” he asked Alice to distract her. “what do you think?” she pointed at herself from head to toe. From the good quality Cat ears, to washable blonde hair dye, to the bell and the tail-belt she had gotten the costume exactly right. She even had green eyes too. All that with the amount of effort she had put in the quiz? Yeah, it’s safe to say that she liked Cat Noir. “I love that costume” Marinette said, “did you make it yourself?” Alice seem to perk up again. “You bet I did. I spend two weeks on this. Needed to get everything right.” She turned this way and that so that Marinette can have a better look. It was indeed very well done. “I love it, it’s so detailed, so nicely done” Marinette said meaning it.  “Well” Alice said I actually put efforts in it unlike her” she pointed at Sarah. Though it was true that Sarah’s costume lacked the workmanship Alice’s costume did, it worked. Beside you need to put in less efforts for ladybug costume. It was partially her fault. She could have imagined something better, something creative something that reflected her. But she didn’t want to be a superhero at that moment so her magic suit was set to default so to speak. By the time she was ready to do this, it was too late, her basic outfit was on every screen, she had to stick with it.</p>
<p>“Whatever” Sarah said. She was in much better mood than Alice. “Come on admit it he looks so much better than her” Alice said. “And that’s exactly why you like him. That’s the only thing likable about him”. <em>What?</em> “Excuse me?” Alice and Marinette said in union. “He always creates such a mess. Do you know how annoyed Ladybug gets because of that?” Sarah said. Maybe you don’t know Ladybug as much as you like to think, Marinette though but didn’t say. Adrien was silent. She thought he would defend Cat Noir here but of course he had better sense of letting them sort things out on their own.</p>
<p>Alice was mad. Really mad. “we’ve been through this.” She said. “Ladybug. Would. Be. Dead. Without. Him. By. Now!” she paused after each word. “oh, as if. Look I’m not saying he doesn’t help at all right? But she would not be dead without him okay? I mean I ship them and all but honestly she could do better”. Not worth it. Not worth risk exposing her secret. Not worth it. But Marinette so wished she could tell this blonde Ladybug how wrong she actually was. She didn’t have to. Alice was on it. “We have been through this and you still don’t understand. You think he is her sidekick, don’t you? Oh but your Ladybug herself said in this interview with the ladyblog that her and Cat Noir are partners and she would be dead without him, she also went on to say that while fighting an akuma you need a person you can rely on as your partner, and Cat Noir…”  </p>
<p>Neither of them were paying any attention to Marinette and Adrien anymore. “come on” Adrien whispered into her ear. She nodded and followed him. “That was a strange quiz” she said when they were out of earshot. “it was” he agreed. “yeah. It wasn’t about how much you know about the heroes; it was about seeing if Ladybug fans are more dedicated or Cat Noir fans are more dedicated.” She said as she realized it. Both of them looked back. Sarah and Alice were still fighting. “You really did good on Cat Noir quiz. I didn’t realize you were a fan” He said. No, no. He was teasing her about Cat Noir, because he thinks she has a crush on him, no! “No” she blurted out. “I mean sure I keep up with it, for you know… to help Alya with the Ladyblog, yeah that’s it. I … you are the one who is a huge fan” She said. Did she just say no you? “are you?” she added. He seemed to think. “I mean I thought you were” she said. She had made this awkward, but until half an hour ago she was so sure he was a huge fan of Cat Noir. “I mean” He began. He was hesitating which was unusual for him. “I guess I like him, I’m not so sure”. <em>Wait what?</em>     </p>
<p> “What do you mean?” she asked. “I mean Sarah kinda had a point don’t you think?” he said. “No. I don’t”. How can he think that? Sarah was wrong on so many levels. She didn’t even have anything resembling a point. She turned to look if they were still fighting. They weren’t. Sarah was sitting alone at the booth. Alice was nowhere to seen. She tuned to look at Adrien. “He has gotten in Ladybug’s way more than once. And she does complain about it a lot. And maybe, you know she could use a better partner” he said, in a tone that was so not him. Yes, Cat Noir can be annoying from time to time, but it’s one thing if she said that, it was completely different if someone else did. They were partners, they were friends, of course they were going to argue from time to time but she could never, ever want to replace Cat Noir with anyone, ever. She was trying to figure out how to say so to Adrien when the akuma showed up.</p>
<p>A blonde with long hair tied at her back in a long braid, like the way she had worn it when she was wearing the Cat miraculous. Cat ears and Catlike green eyes. She wore a black and green Cat suit that was nothing like Cat Noir’s suit. She had a pen stuck behind an ear and a stack of cards tucked into her belt. She was sorta like copycat, sorta like lady Noir, something in between. Marinette immediately realized who it was. The only person it could be. Alice the lady Cat. “I am Fangirl” she said. Oh, these akuma names were getting more and more ridiculous. “and I’m gonna quiz you. If you failed, you are not a real fan and you would be banished.”</p>
<p>“Let’s split up and find Alya and Nino and regroup outside” She said to Adrien. He bought it. “Great plan, see you outside” he said. They hurried away in opposite direction. After a minute of searching Marinette found an empty booth to transform. “You look mad.” Tikki said. “I’m not mad” she said. before transforming she realized she was holding the keychain in her hand. “this one is going to be hard but I’m not mad at her, she is just a fan.” Marinette said. She put the keychain in her purse. “I’m not talking about the quiz girl; I’m talking about Adrien. Are you mad at him?”. There was no time to deny it. “it’s okay if Chloe makes a mistake, she is not useless. It’s okay if Lila lies, she just wants to make friend. But Cat Noir, the person who works hard to save this city and risks his life for me at least once a week, he is the one unworthy of being a hero. I don’t understand that logic. He is so kind to everyone else but he was so quick to judge Cat Noir. I don’t understand it.” She said. Tikki looed sad at that. “it’s okay, we see to that later, I have a crazy fan to find. Tikki spots on”.</p>
<p>This wasn’t what she had imagined.    </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>People were in a hurry to leave the convention center, so it didn’t take Adrien long to find a place to transform. He hid behind an empty stall. “congrats kid you got yourself a fan” Plagg said. Adrien didn’t know what to say. As a model he did have lots of fans, a few even crazy ones. But as Cat Noir? Ladybug mostly took the spotlight and he was happy for it. She was incredible, and he liked the lack of attention, so it worked out. This was a weird situation. And it would be difficult to handle this one. Especially if what Marinette said about the quiz was true, then Fangirl must dislike Ladybug a lot. “the girl’s not completely wrong you know” Plagg said. “who? Marinette?” Adrien asked. “No” Plagg replied. “your mega fan. You don’t give yourself enough credit, you are not half bad” Plagg getting sentimental was an unusual thing, but he could now hear people screaming. “thanks, Plagg but that’s enough with the pep talk. Plagg claws out!” He said.</p>
<p>There were three scorch marks on the ground, and he could see Fangirl talking to someone in the distance. Good news? The convention center was mostly empty. Only two people were there. Bad news? Those two people were Alya and Nino. Alya had her phone out and was filming the whole thing. “this is awesome, Ladybug and Cat Noir will be here any second.” He heard her say. “Lady blogger” Fangirl said twirling her braid. She looked like a fusion of him and Lady Noir. Without the powers. Her original costume was much better. “that’s me” Alya said. Nino was tugging at her arm, pleading her to leave. “Want to take the quiz?” Fangirl said. He was there before Alya could answer. “Let them go and I’ll sign an autograph” he said with a smirk. He was trying to keep things light. “I’ll have that anyway but first I need to know if the Ladyblogger is as big of fan of you as she claims she is” He stepped in front of her, he thought she would stop going towards Alya if he intervened. He was wrong. She pointed her pen at him, clicked it and he was hit by a blast that sent him stumbling backwards. When he got up fangirl was already in front of Alya, asking her the question.</p>
<p>It’s okay, Alya can probably answer her question. Marinette has said she helped Alya with Cat Noir stuff, and she was able to answer almost every question on the quiz. So Alya would be fine. He was wrong again. “What is the one akuma Cat Noir didn’t fight against?” she asked. Marinette has answered that but Alya couldn’t. “ha!” she exclaimed. He always shows up for the fight. So none. Trick question” she looked so proud of herself. “No!” he screamed but he didn’t reach there in time. Fangirl grimaced and pointed her pen at Alya. There was a red flash and where Alya and Nino were standing there was a big scorch mark. She tapped her pen on the cards tucked under her belt. A sketch of his friends appeared on there with the words fake fans written on one of them. He realized there were different words written on different cards.</p>
<p>She turned around to look at him. “I’ll see you later, I have a friend to see” She said. He took a step towards her and she blasted him with her pen again. He really shouldn’t underestimate her. “Are you okay?” Ladybug asked. She was standing in front of him, she had her hand extended to him. He took it and got up. “mostly” he said. “she’s your fan” Ladybug said. He only shrugged. “I know where she’s headed” He said. “she wanted to find her friend, so that would be a girl dressed as you.” “that narrows it down” Ladybug said, and he recognized the sarcasm in her voice. “come on”</p>
<p>They went outside and it was a mess. They spotted a few scorch marks, which was a bit odd. Cat Noir said “she is asking questions to people about me and if they can’t answer she is capturing them in her cards. She couldn’t have asked questions to...” he counted, “Seven people before we got out” “Are you sure she is asking questions before?” Ladybug asked. “Yes, I saw her capture Alya and Nino.” He answered. Ladybug seem to contemplate that.</p>
<p> “You said she was looking for a girl dressed like me, and there are dozens of girls here like that. Do you think she zapped everyone dressed like me?” She said.</p>
<p>“She wanted to know if Alya was a real fan. When she zapped her and Nino into the cards it read fake fans. I think others said something else.” He said.</p>
<p>“You know what I think? She is asking questions only to people who claims to be your fans, giving them a chance to prove themselves. Everyone else she is capturing without questions.” Ladybug said.</p>
<p>“Not everyone else. Just other people dressed like you.” He said. She nodded. “for now, at least. Let’s find her.” She threw her yoyo and got onto a high rooftop; he was right behind her. “there” she said pointing at some distance where some commotion was going on. “What’s the plan?” he asked. She eyed him for a second before speaking. “What kind of questions is she asking?” she asked. He shrugged again. He knew she was asking questions from the quiz she had given to Marinette earlier but he couldn’t possibly explain knowing that. “I only heard one. She asked what akuma I didn’t fight” he said. Ladybug nodded. “Well I know the answer to that. I’m guessing she doesn’t really like me or my fans that much right? She is zapping them just like that. So what will she do if I answered all of her questions correctly?” she said. That plan was pretty risky. “What if you couldn’t answer some?” he asked, hoping to change her mind. She scoffed. “You underestimate me Kitty” she said. She was about to take off again but he held her wrist and stopped her. “don’t” he said. She stopped and crossed her arms. She wanted an explanation as to why he had stopped her. “Think about it. Fangirl’s questions don’t make any sense anyways. Why ask about a fight I wasn’t there for? Wouldn’t it make more sense if she asked about fight, I did take part in? Her questions are unpredictable, so don’t do it. We will come up with another plan” Cat Noir said. She wanted to say something but she didn’t or rather she couldn’t.</p>
<p>She sighed loudly at last and said, “You do underestimate me, don’t you? You didn’t fight against style queen. I don’t know why; I don’t actually believe you lost your ring. She asked that question to see how much people pay attention to you. If they really see you or they just assume you would be there. If they do, then she thinks they are not your real fans”. He didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t understand why a ghost of a smile was on his lips. He didn’t fully understand the meaning of the look on her face. “Can we go now?” she asked. He still thought it was dangerous, but he <em>had</em> been underestimating her. He felt just a little bit more confident. “in a second” he said and got his communicator earpiece out of his staff. “just in case” he said. “Okay.” She said as she took hers from her yoyo and put it in her ear. “I’ll go there alone, you stay nearby but out of her sight, try to find out where her akuma is. We will probably have to use our powers but for now I think this can work” He nodded and they took off.    </p>
<p>Fangirl was capturing people without a second thought. He spotted a girl in Ladybug costume, when got close it was Sarah, the girl Fangirl was looking for. He Landed in front of her. She was going to scream from surprise but he put a hand on her mouth. “Come on you are not safe here” he said. She took the hand he had extended towards her; he grabbed her a little harshly but she was fine. There was no time to drop her off at a safe place so he took her with him and they hid behind a building. From around the corner he could see Ladybug approaching the fangirl, and he could here what they were saying. “I’m so sorry” Sarah said in a small voice. “it’s not your fault” he reassured her. “It is! I told her she was an idiot who liked a hero no one cared about. I told her he was nothing compared to Ladybug and that she was the only one who actually gave a damn about him” she said. Then she realized who she was talking to. He tried his best to keep his expression neutral. “I didn’t actually mean any of that Cat Noir I was just teasing her” Sarah said. He didn’t reply. He didn’t know how to reply. She was about to say more but he shushed her. Ladybug had Fangirl’s attention now.</p>
<p>“I won’t let you hurting people like that. Let them go, right now.” Ladybug said. Fangirl looked angry. She sized Ladybug up as she fidgeted with her pen. The akuma is either in the pen or the cards. He was leaning towards the cards. “You take up all the spotlight Ladybug, you think you are so important, don’t you? Well you would be dead without Cat Noir!” She said, her voice raising at the last few words. Ladybug just shrugged and said, “yeah I know, what’s your point?” Fangirl looked baffled. Whatever his Lady was doing, it was working. “You wouldn’t have won most of your fights without him!” Fangirl spat out. Ladybug did not seem phased. “I know” she said calmly. Fangirl grinned her teeth. “He is just as important as you!” She screamed. Ladybug remained calm. “what’s your point Fangirl?” she asked, pretending to be exasperated. Ladybug had fangirl’s undivided attention; it had given civilians an opportunity to evacuate the area. There were only two of them in the clearing. And him and Sarah hiding behind a building.</p>
<p>“I had enough of you” Fangirl said. She pointed her pen at Ladybug and was about to shoot. “Wait” his lady said. “aren’t you going to quiz me first?” Fangirl was taken aback again. “No” she said, “you will know everything”. Ladybug took a step closer. “the akuma is most likely in her pen” He whispered, she nodded her head ever so slightly, he was sure only he noticed it. “don’t you want to know if I’m a fan or not?” Ladybug said taking few more steps. She was only couple of feet away from the Akuma now. A purple butterfly shaped masked formed on Fangirl’s face. “Shut up” she said after a second of listening to Hawk Moth. “shut up, shut up! I know exactly what I’m doing” she said. The mask disappeared.</p>
<p>“what is the one fight” Fangirl began to say, but Ladybug answered before she could finish. “the one against style queen”. She took a step forward. He let go of Sarah. “what was the first time Cat Noir gave an interview to...”</p>
<p>“October fourteenth” Ladybug replied.</p>
<p>“what is Cat Noir...”</p>
<p>“Feathers, come on this is so easy” Ladybug said. He saw her cards, shining with letters. The top one read JUST A POSER. He couldn’t get then out of his mind.</p>
<p>“what was the first time Cat Noir and Ladybug...”</p>
<p>“When we fought Evilestrator.” Ladybug was smirking. Fangirl was angry and shaking her pen, and the cards were glowing brighter. It’s the cards, not the pen. Ladybug grabbed the pen from her hand before he could tell her that. “Stay here” he told Sarah and was by Ladybug’s side in two leaps. She had broken the pen and nothing had happened. Fangirl took an identical pen from behind her ear which wasn’t there before. “You shouldn’t have done that” Fangirl said. she pointed her pen at Ladybug but he held her wrist before she can shoot and redirect her aim. Before she could reach for her cards, she kicked him, pushing him away from her. “why are you defending her all the time?” she hissed. She tried to hit him again but he blocked her this time. “My bad” he said, “it’s definitely her cards. Ladybug nodded. He knew it was time to summon her lucky charm. “I got this” he told her. She nodded again. Fangirl took advantage of him being distracted and tackled him to the ground. “Maybe I will turn you into a card after all. And keep you with me forever. Then I will find Sarah.” She said pointing her pen at him again. But that left one of his hands free so he grabbed her braid, which wasn’t his best move admittedly and pulled her off him tossing her aside. He got up and extended his stick. Ladybug was beside him by then.</p>
<p>She had skipping ropes in her hands. “got a plan?’ he asked. “I really don’t like her belt, let’s get it off her”. He smiled at her for half a second and then they attacked the akuma in sync like they always do. Ladybug dogged two blows as she approached from the front, leaping out of the way just at the last moment, it gave him a chance to get behind Fangirl and grab her hand. The other one blasting at Ladybug instinctively went towards the pack of cards tucked in her belt. Ladybug reached for it with one, Fangirl held it by the wrist, she tried to fight both of them, accidentally firing once in a while. Ladybug backed up with one hand behind her back, Fangirl let her go and focused her attention on Cat Noir. She tried to punch his face, but he blocked it and smirked at her. “You might want to look down” he said. She looked confused before she looked down and saw a skipping rope instead of a belt. It was tied to her waist the exact same way Multimouse does, using it as a tell. Something struck in his mind about Marinette from seeing that, but he pushed it aside for the time being. “no!” Fangirl said. She turned around only to see Ladybug tearing down a card that said Number one fangirl and she froze in her place.</p>
<p>Where fangirl had stood, there only stood Alice in his costume now, a scared teenager looking up at him with fear. “Cat Noir, Ladybug, what happened?” she asked. He didn’t say anything. “You were akumatized but everything is fine now” Ladybug said as she walked towards them, Alice was about to say something but she was distracted by Sarah yelling her name. “Alice!” Sarah said as she ran toward her friend. “Sarah” Alice said, she took a few steps towards her. Sarah tackled her friend in a hug. “I’m so sorry” they both said in unison. They both laughed in unison together as they separated. He stood where he was, hands crossed. Ladybug approached them with a bunch of cards in her hand. She handed them to Alice. “Ladybug” Alice said in a small voice. “would you mind signing it?”. Sarah dug into her purse and produce a similar card to it. “I would love to” she said. She took the cards and signed them. “Umm… Cat Noir?” Alice said hesitantly. “No” he said not letting her finish. “let’s go” he said to Ladybug and took off from there. He stopped on a rooftop far away from there, even though it was in opposite direction of the convention center. He hadn’t used his power so he still had time, but he knew he needed to go back soon otherwise his friends would worry. Ladybug landed behind him. He just wanted to fist bump before parting ways but when he turned around, he saw that she was angry. “What the hell was that?” she asked, her arms crossed. He really didn’t want to get into it. He didn’t know if he fully understood why he was mad, or if he could explain that to Ladybug in next three minutes, but he had little choice now.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What the hell was that?” Ladybug said, arms crossed and furious. “I didn’t want to sigh her autograph Ct Noir said. She looked to one side and rolled her eyes furiously, then looked back and asked, “and why not?” “It’s not important my lady. Let it go” he said. “Since when do you don’t sign the autographs? You said you love it so what happened?” she asked. He didn’t say anything. She had three minutes left, and she had a feeling he was stalling. “Kitty?” she said, a little softer this time. “I don’t usually sign autographs, not as much as you do anyway.” He said. She hadn’t realized that before. “not the point right now” she said. She wasn’t going to let it go so quickly. “Tell me what’s wrong, and I don’t have much time so hurry” she said.</p>
<p>He sighed. “well … Ali… that girl didn’t exactly make a good first impression.” He said. Marinette couldn’t believe he had just said that. “She was akumatized. It wasn’t her fault” she said. “it was though” he said.</p>
<p>“No, it wasn’t. since when do we blame people for getting akumatized?” she said.</p>
<p>“She had no reason to get upset. I talked to her friend; she took things too far”</p>
<p>Ladybug’s earrings beeped. Two Minutes. “She just got carried away. She likes you and she doesn’t like it when people insult you. Because she is your fan and you are her hero.” Marinette said like she was talking to a child. He shrugged. He didn’t believe her. “Kitty why is so hard for you to believe that someone is that devoted to you?” she asked he stayed silent. “look at me.” She said and he did. “Nothing she said was wrong. What she did was, but she was akumatized. We are a team; I can’t do it alone without you. And trust me I would be dead without you. Nothing she said was wrong.” She said. “It was a bit too much don’t you think?” He said after a moment. Ladybug shook her head. “Why do you find it so hard that someone is that devoted to you?’ she asked again. “Because I don’t understand why” he said, “why do you find it so easy?”</p>
<p>“Well, because you are my hero Kitty” she said. He looed at her with wide eyes and parted lips. Her earring beeped again. She needed to leave, in half a minute. “I didn’t wanna do this, I didn’t want to be a hero. I had taken off my earring and decided this was not for me. But then I saw you, fighting without me. No one believed in me the way you did that day. I had made the biggest mistake I can possibly make and you still believed in me. And you made me believe in myself. You are the reason I decided to stay Ladybug. You inspired me to be a hero” she said. He was still looking at her the same way. She was out of time. “Bye Kitty” she said and swung away.</p>
<p>She landed in an ally near the convention center. She sighed and stood with her back to the wall. Tikki landed in her palm. She fished out a Macron for her. “What was all that?” Tikki asked. Marinette didn’t know. She hadn’t planned to say all that. She was pretty mad at him when she went to confront him, it turned into something else. It was true, but she hadn’t realized it before. She hadn’t realized just how much Car Noir means to her. It’s impossible not to care about someone you fight monsters with every other day. After all they had been through, Marinette knew she has a place in her heart no one else can take. No one else can replace him. Even though she didn’t love him, at least not the way he does, she still cared for him a great deal. But what she had said was even before all this. When they were practically strangers. When she had just met him. She didn’t know he had left a mark on her from the beginning. “I was just being honest” she finally said. “I think it’s great you know” Tikki said. “really?” Marinette asked. “Uh-huh. It’s always good to tell people how much they mean to you.” The Kwami said. Marinette had a feeling it wasn’t what she was originally going to say. “Let’s go and find others” she said to Tikki. The Kwami hid in her purse and Marinette went to look for her friends.</p>
<p>**</p>
<p>Cat Noir found Alice and Sarah where he and Ladybug had left them. He still didn’t agree that Alice was blameless in this mess but people can change, and Ladybug was right, he can’t blame her for getting akumatized. Alice was the first one to notice him. “I’m sorry I was so rude” he said and smiled to reassure them. Sarah immediately smiled; Alice hesitated. He pointed at the cards in their hands that Ladybug has signed. “May I” he asked. Now Alice smiled fully. He signed their cards. “Thank you, Cat Noir,” the both said in unison.</p>
<p>He landed not far away from the convention center and detransformed. “That was existing!” Plagg complained. He gave the Kwami a piece of cheese. Ladybug’s words were still echoing in his mind. He had always hoped, always wanted her to love him back. She meant so much to him, and yet it never occurred to him that he would, could mean this much to her. He had very little sympathy for a girl older than him, getting upset over basically nothing all in his name. He still couldn’t fully understand why anyone would or should notice him if Ladybug was there too. Ladybug herself had told him she cared about him, that he was irreplaceable but today was something else entirely. “Do you think she meant it? Ladybug when she said that?” He asked Plagg. “Why would she lie kid?” Plagg said. “To make me feel better?” Adrien said. He thought Plagg looked exasperated at that, but he wasn’t sure. It was hard to tell with the little black Kwami. “Do you really think Ladybug would lie just to make you feel better?” Plagg asked. He and Ladybug lie to each other all the time. It was a given considering they both had to keep their secrets. He never pushed her about it, well most of the times at least, and she never pushed him. Sometimes he could tell she was lying but he pretended not to notice, he was sure she did the same when he lied. Despite all that he knew she was being honest when she told him how much he means to her. “No Plagg, I don’t think she would.” He said.</p>
<p>He went to find his friends and he spotted Marinette coming from the other side. “Hey” he said when her reached where she was standing. He saw that she was texting Alya. “Hey” she said. “Alya said she and Nino would be out in a minute.” He should have texted them too, but his mind was occupied with what Ladybug had said. Something else was nagging at his mind about Marinette. It was something his Lady had said. That most people don’t notice if Cat Noir is there or not, they just assume he would be. They take him for granted. That’s why they couldn’t answer when Fangirl asked what fight he had missed. Only two people could answer it. Ladybug and Marinette.</p>
<p>Something else occurred to him. The way his Lady answered Fangirl’s questions. It wasn’t just that she knew all the answers, of course she did, but she also knew the questions. Was it possible that she was here today? That he missed her by minutes? There was no sure way of knowing. Of course, she would answer a few questions incorrectly, that’s why Marinette had won. No, Marinette had won because she noticed, because she didn’t take him, Cat Noir for granted. She was looking at him strangely right now.</p>
<p>“Is there something on my face?” She asked him. He realized he was staring. “what? N-no. I was just thinking” he said. Was she mad at him? He couldn’t really tell. “I was just thinking” he said again. She looked at him. He continued, “I don’t know a lot about you. I didn’t know you were a fan of Cat Noir.”. She looked baffled at that. “I mean…” she began, “I mean yeah you can say that, but I like both of them, equally, a lot. I don’t like him more than I like Ladybug, I mean I don’t like him less than Ladybug either… I just…” she stooped, closed her eyes and sighed. “I think” she said without opening her eye, “I think he is pretty great, and he does a lot that people don’t notice. I’ve met him a few times and he can be a bit of a show off, but he is just as much of a hero as Ladybug” she sighed again before opening her eyes. This time Adrien was aware that he was staring. “But why do you not like him all of a sudden?” she asked. That was a difficult question to answer now wasn’t it? “I like him. I do really” he said, “I just like her more”. She seems think about that. “All things considered today wasn’t so bad” she said. “Yeah, all things considered” he said.</p>
<p>“We don’t really hang out much do we? Just the two of us I mean.” he said. “uh…” she said. “we should do it more often Marinette” he continued. She grinned and nodded. “hey guys” He heard Alya say. “You would not believe what happened” Nino said. “What?” him and Marinette said in unison. Something about that made Adrien genuinely smile. Today was not so bad, not at all.    </p>
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